MERIDIAN - When you eat out at a restaurant, do you know exactly what you're putting in your body? You may notice at some restaurants a calorie count or even a list of ingredients printed on the menu.
Denidav, a new restaurant in Meridian that opened its doors for the first time on Thursday, is trying to change the way we think about fast food.
"Everything here is purely nutritious," said Dave Brown, founder of Denidav. "There's not that many good choices out there. The choices out there for people aren't healthy ones. Even those that are deemed healthy right now, a lot of those aren't."
Dieticians that we spoke with say with our lives becoming more fast paced, it's getting harder and harder to make healthy food choices.
"My first instinct is to basically get something convenient and fairly inexpensive and get back to work," said Boise resident Lynnsey Escobedo.
Oftentimes, that choice isn't a healthy one.
"We have a society now that the choices are very limited, it's just non-healthy A, B, or C," said Brown. "What we wanted to do was change that. They don't have to eat something that's going to give them high cholesterol, they don't have to eat something that's going to have all the bad ingredients, preservatives and dyes in it. They know they can come in here and eat healthy and get it quick."
Brown says every time a customer walks through his doors, they know exactly what they're putting in their bodies.
"Every bite has cancer fighting agents in it," he said. "Whether its antioxidants, whether its kale or red cabbage. All these things help fight the harmful things in life. We'll carry things like fennel, we'll carry endive here. Endive helps with ovarian cancer. We'll carry a lot of the whole plant food that a lot of people don't carry."
Dieticians also say that childhood obesity has become more common over the years, so setting good examples and making these healthy alternatives available could prevent future chronic disease diagnoses.
"I'm a mother so I'm trying to teach my daughter healthy choices as well so it's something that I'm thinking about constantly and obviously theres not as many options out there," Escobedo said.
Brown believes that a growing awareness of healthy eating options will make his business model a success.
"People are finding out that this is what makes them healthy," said Brown. "And people want a healthier lifestyle. I think people are fed up with the choices."